Officer cleared in shooting

It was just an accident. That's what an internal investigation concluded about the officer-involved shooting of a 15-year-old boy during a scuffle on Interstate 95 almost a year ago.

Officer Jason Hersh, 32, did not violate departmental policies when his firearm accidentally was discharged, injuring the teen in the shoulder after the boy lunged at him, according to the investigation report released this month.

According to the report: Hersh approached the 15-year-old the night of May 4 after the boy led police on a high-speed chase through two counties and then crashed the car. The boy would not get out of the vehicle, so Hersh opened the driver's side door with his gun drawn. The boy then jumped out and grabbed the gun. A shot was fired as the two wrestled over the weapon, striking the boy in the back of his shoulder.

The shooting was "not only accidental, but primarily caused by the actions of [the boy]," wrote Capt. Rick Maglione, of the Office of Internal Affairs.

The Lauderhill teen was taken to Broward General Medical Center in critical condition and was released more than a week later. The youth was charged with aggravated fleeing and resisting arrest with violence. The passenger, 16, was shocked with a Taser and charged with resisting arrest without violence. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is not identifying the two boys because of their ages.

The incident began earlier that night when two armed robbers tied up an employee with duct tape at E Z Go Auto Corp. on Northeast First Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. They took off with more than $600 and a Pontiac Grand Prix, police said.

Hersh and another on-duty officer noticed two youths driving a Pontiac on Northwest 11th Avenue that fit the description of the stolen car. The officers tried to pull over the driver, who instead led police on a half-hour chase on I-95 through Broward and Palm Beach counties. The two boys, who turned out not to be involved in the heist, eventually crashed near Cypress Creek Road.

About 10 police officers witnessed the struggle that ensued over Hersh's firearm, according to investigators. None of them saw the boy grab Hersh's gun, but a DNA swab showed his fingerprints all over the officer's 9mm Glock. It is still unclear whose finger was on the trigger when the shot was fired, police said.

Investigators decided that Hersh did not act out of line and should not be punished.

"The testimony and re-enactment provided by Officer Hersh clearly displayed a reasonable and prudent explanation for the events as they occurred," wrote Sgt. Luis Alvarez.

Alexia Campbell can be reached at apcampbell@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4513.